A legislative battle might be brewing over the scheduled renewal of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, slated for the ballot next November.

The SCFD Board of Directors late last month approved a plan that will be introduced to the General Assembly in January, including a readjustment to the funding formula providing for a modest increase to smaller arts organizations, based on recommendations from a task force established earlier in the year.

The point of contention surrounding the renewal effort is the issue of dilution, or the distribution of funding to the various organizations that comprise the SCFD, which are divided into tiers.

The taxing district, established by voters in 1988, collects 1/10 of a cent sales tax in the seven-county metro area and distributes roughly $40 million annually to more than 270 organizations. Tier I is made up of the largest institutions, which include the Denver Art Museum, Denver Zoo, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Performing Arts Center. Tier II is made up of 28 larger organizations, including the Colorado Symphony and the Arvada Center, while Tier III counts 246 smaller organizations throughout the region in the grouping.

Since the district’s inception more than 25 years ago, the number of Tier I organizations has remained relatively steady, growing from four to five, while the number of Tier II and III organizations has grown considerably – from six to 28 for Tier II organizations. (The Tier III roster fluctuates as smaller organizations are created or disbanded and qualify or not for funding from county cultural councils.) The funding mechanism has tended to favor the larger organizations, whose annual distribution has grown, according to some estimates, by some 300 percent as the available pool of funds has increased with population. Meanwhile, distribution for the smaller organizations in Tiers II and III hasn’t kept pace and has even declined over time.

With SCFD collections projected to grow to $88 million by 2030, when the next renewal is set to go before voters, many of the smaller organizations receiving funding want to see major structural changes to the formula in order to take advantage of the anticipated additional funds.

The district’s board appointed a task force to study the situation and develop a plan to present to the Legislature. The proposal they developed adjusts the funding mechanism to provide some increases in distribution to smaller arts and cultural organizations.

“After a nearly four-year process involving extensive study and input on the part of hundreds of citizens from across the seven-county district, the SCFD board approved the largest shift in funding among the organizations in the district’s nearly 30-year history,” said SCFD executive director Peg Long. “In short, over the proposed 12-year span, $37 million additional dollars will go to the medium and smaller organizations.”

State Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, who will be one of the co-sponsors of the SCDF renewal legislation, said the plan is the result of “a long process, involving lots of people, and adjusts the funding formula in a way that will result in more funds being distributed to Tier II and III organizations.”

However, not all parties are satisfied with the proposal.

Friends of Art and Cultural Equity, an advocacy group representing more than 100 Tier III groups, said late last month that they are considering presenting alternate funding proposals to the Legislature.

“The board failed to take into account the change in attendance patterns over the last 20 years when setting their task force to work,” the coalition said in a release, including that attendance at Tier III organizations has skyrocketed since 1993, while Tier I attendance has only grown moderately. In addition, the FACE organizations said they resented being characterized as “disgruntled grabbers” by an arm of the SCFD board.

Annmarie Jensen, a Denver-based lobbyist representing FACE, says that among the issues surrounding what the groups believe is a continued inequity of funding distribution is the relative measure of community service provided by the different tiered organizations. “Tier II and III organizations provide significant school programs and free services, which are not reflected in the funding formula, which gives two-thirds to Tier I groups,” she said.

But perhaps the biggest issue, she said, is one that doesn’t affect Tier I organizations – the dilution of funds as more organizations come into the district.

“The number of Tier I (organizations) is specified in statute, and does not change,” said Jensen. “Tiers II and III are constantly growing, so the average amount of funding per organization is always going down, while the average amount of funding in Tier I per organization goes up.” Jensen also argued that the current funding was unfair to minority communities. “Cultural organizations serving communities of color are all in Tier III,” she said.

Not all of the Tier II and III groups are opposed to the plan. The Colorado Symphony, a Tier II organization, is supporting the SCFD board-approved plan. In a statement addressed to Symphony constituents last week, Jerry Kern, CEO and co-chair of the Symphony’s Board of Trustees, wrote, “The Colorado Symphony is united with the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District Board of Directors’ official efforts regarding the tax district’s 2016 reauthorization. The Colorado Symphony supports the SCFD Board’s reauthorization recommendations and will work toward their passage next fall.”

Kern said the Symphony had the chance to discuss the dilution issue with the SCFD board and went on to praise the board’s “openness to dialogue and recognize their commitment to disbursing taxpayer dollars wisely.”

Colorado Ballet is another Tier II organization backing the proposed renewal plan. “We fully support the reauthorization as recommended at the May SCFD Board meeting,” said Mark Hough, the ballet’s managing director of advancement. He added, “We came to this position after listening to all sides and carefully considering what each party had to say. We think it is very equitable and that everyone was heard in the process.”

The reauthorization bill is being sponsored in the House of Representatives by Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, and state Rep. Polly Lawrence, R-Castle Rock, and in the Senate by Steadman and Majority Leader Mark Scheffel, R-Parker.

“The funding ratio’s agreed upon are fair for all three tiers,” Lawrence told The Colorado Statesman. “Everyone was included in the discussion, and Tiers II and III get an increase in the share of the revenue.”

While both sides seem to be bracing for a legislative battle, concerned parties are hoping that it will not come down to that. Steadman urged all parties to “keep our eyes on the prize, which is creating a statute as good as possible to go to the ballot.” Jensen says FACE groups are “hoping for SCFD to make a good faith effort” to meet some more of their concerns.

“I would hope that everyone will get on board and support the SCFD,” said Colorado Ballet’s Hough, adding, “It is in the best interest of all of us. We want to be a unified front to get this reauthorization.”

– info@coloradostatesman.com